Scot music, Indian ragas charm Kolkata audience at live concert

A confluence of gaelic music and Indian ragas has enthralled the audience here and left them asking for more.

‘Yatra: Journey, a live music concert’ was organised by the British Council and Indian Museum in collaboration with Scotland arts centre ‘An Lanntair’ to pay a tribute to Scottish army officer Colonel Colin Mackenzie, Debanjan Chakrabarti, the director of British Council East, told PTI.

Mackenzie had travelled from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland to Indian shores in 1783 to study about the culture and languages of the country. A group of musicians, led by tabla players Dalbir Singh Rattan, presented a diverse collection of musical scores at the hour-long concert.

“The programme gave the audience an opportunity to travel through time, between countries and cultures, with live music and moving images at the backdrop,” Chakrabarti said.

Sujoy Banerjee, an IT professional and an audience member, said the combination of Scottish scores and Indian classical music is a rare thing to come by. “I loved the fusion of Santoor and Cello. I wish the show lasted longer,” he said.

A special exhibition of Mackenzie’s collectibles was also arranged by the Indian Museum on this occasion.

“Mackenzie had produced some of the first cartographic maps of South India. His collection provided the context and inspiration for creative collaborations between artists, writers and musicians,” Chakrabarti said.

An army officer in the British East India Company, Mackenzie became the first Surveyor General of India in 1810.